VP’s call to help virus-hit poor nations apt

During a crisis, such as natural disasters, the poor are always at the receiving end. And this time the whole situation is totally different, because we are living in extraordinary times where a monster of a disease called coronavirus has hijacked the normalcy of our lives. The worst hit appear to be the poor and the underprivileged.

It is the economically backward sections of society who were in focus at the G-20 meet in Saudi Arabia, which in an unprecedented move was mostly virtual, due to the virus.

Leaders of the world’s20 biggest economies vowed to ensure a fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, drugs and tests around the world and do what was needed to support poorer countries struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

G20 leaders are concerned that the pandemic might further deepen global divisions between the rich and the poor.

 “We need to avoid at all costs a scenario of a two-speed world where only the richer can protect themselves against the virus and restart normal lives,” French President Emmanuel Macron told the summit.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said, “This summit is an evidence of the wisdom that humanity has reached over many centuries throughout its history. This wisdom says that our interest is in the cooperation, our strength is in the solidarity and that we are all one.”

Sheikh Mohammed thanked King Salman for hosting the summit, praising the efforts, which led to a high degree of efficiency.

He also called for concerted efforts to address the current challenges facing the world, foremost of which is the COVID-19 pandemic, and exploring ways that would optimise the opportunities available for a better life through the cooperation of the G20 leaders.

Furthermore, Sheikh Mohammed has also done something which is noteworthy: he called for unifying the determination and the will to enable societies, especially those of the less fortunate around the world, to overcome these challenges, to continue development processes and to meet the basic requirements that guarantee the simplest forms of a decent life for the human being. He continued, “Our common global issues such as enhancing the role of women, providing health care, climate change, providing low-cost education, food and water security issues and others, cannot be addressed without working as a one hand, a one determination and a unified international will.”

The UAE’s stance will remain clear, steady and constant in support of all international efforts to overcome these challenges. Its orientations will remain firm towards the efforts being exerted globally to combat the current crises and avoiding future ones. “The UAE is fully committed to supporting every effort aimed at achieving human interest anywhere, helping humanity to cross into a new phase full of hope in the aftermath of overcoming a pandemic,” Sheikh Mohammed added.

Since the onset of COVID-19 crisis, the UAE has taken effective measures to ensure the maximum containment of the virus, including conducting millions of tests, and helping others beyond its borders, based on the unflinching belief in the importance of solidarity and international cooperation.

The UAE has provided medical aid and protective kits to 120 countries around the world, reaching more than 1.6 million beneficiaries in the medical sector, to help contain the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its unprecedented impact in terms of lives lost, livelihood and economies affected, is a shock without compare that has revealed weaknesses in our preparedness and response and underscored our common challenges. Overcoming these challenges, together, should be the prime need of the hour. The world has to come to terms with the fact that it has become a global village with shared resources.